Lock nut



22 40 1 1 .2. jg 2L June 19; 1945. c. F. CARLSTROM 2,378,684

LOCK NUT Filed 001;. 28, 1944 INVENTOR.

ATTY.

leased and removed when so desired.

I Patented June 19, 1945 omen I LOCKNUT I om F. Carlstrom, Worcester, Mam, assign'or to Worcester Stamped Metal Company, Worcester,

Mass., a. corporation of Massachusetts I I Application October 28, 1944, Serial No. 560,801 I I 'l'clsim. Roles-s6) I a This invention relates to a lock nut which may be used on a bolt orvscrew by itself, or in association with a standard type nut.

. It is the general object of my invention to provide a lock nut which'will firmly grip and hold on a bolt or screw but-which may be easily re- A further. object is to provide'a spring-type double :lock nut which-is under spring tension when in locking position but which is releasable" to overcome the by applying manual pressure spring tension. I Y

I also provides U-shaped of lock nut, thepa'rts ofwhich are displaced from normal free position when in use, and said parts being further displaceable in the same di- I rection to release the locking grip.

with the plane of the plate II, and the edge portion ilaof the lug II is substantially displaced upwardly, all as clearly shown in Fig.5. When the lock nut is in operative position, the edges Ila and Ila engage the same turn of the-thread groove, asalso shown in'Fig. 6. a

a portion oc e' plate ll is. slltte d and bent upward. to provide a stop or spacer 40.. In its double-spring type normal or freeiposition, the plates l and II are substantially spread apart, as clearlyshown in When the lock nut is to beput in use, the

- plates l0 and II are pressed manually'into-substantially parallel position, with the plate l0 engaging the stop or spacer l0. A'bolt or screw B may then be easily threaded through the openings Iliand "in the plates Ill andll, and the My invention further relates to arrangements and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claim. 1 1 r A preferred form of the invention is shown in the drawing,inwhich I Fig. 1 i a side elevation .of my improved lock nut;

'Fig. 2 is a planview, looking in thedirection taken along the of the arrow 2 in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a sectionalplan view, lineHinFigl; 1 n Fig. 4 is an enlarged partial sectional'side elevation, taken along the line 4-4 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged partial sectional side elevation, taken along the line 5-! in Fig. -3; and Fig. 6 is' a sectional side'elevation of the'lock nut in operative position on a bolt.

Referring to the drawing, y improved lock nut comprises a single piece of spring steel which threads of the bolt will be engaged as shown-in- When the. manual pressure'is released, theplates and II will tendto separate slightly, assuming the locking position shown in Fig. 6

and in which position the bolt is firmly gripped- .and the nut is firmly locked thereto. If it is thereafter desired to release thezlock nut, the

plates II and 'II maybe manually forced together until "the plate It again engages the stop II, in which position the lock nut may be easily turned on the bolt B.

.It will be obvious that the amount of ofiset or displacement of the edge portions Ila and Ila I 1 out of the planes of the plates l0 and II will depend on the pitch of the thread on. the bolt '3' and will be increased or decreased for coarser as or finer pitch respectively.

is rectangular in plan and substantially U- shaped in side elevation.

The nut comprises an upper portion ll (Fig. l)

and a lower portion ll, joined by a semi-circular end portion l2.

. As previously stated, my improved lock nut is I eli'ective when by itself but is-even more eflective when used in association with a standard type nut N (Fig. 6).- The entire lock nut 40 structure comprises a single piece of spring steel I and-may be easily and economically manufac- The upper portion it has a pair of lugs and I 2| flanked by slots 22 and separated by a substantially'circular opening Hi! 'Theinner edges of the lugs 20 and 2| are formed substantially as shown in Fig. 4, with the edge portion Illa' substantially in line withthe plane of the plate II, and with the edge portion Ila substantially displaced downwardly. when thelock nut is in position on a bolt, as shown in Fig. 6, the edge 20a will be seated in one turn of the thread groove and the edge Ila will be seated in the next adiacent or lower groove. I

Similarly, the lower plate II is provided with lugs and Il flanked by slots 32 and separated.

v thus described by invention and the'ad- I vantages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise thanas set forth in the claim, but what I claim is:

. A loci: nut formed from a U-shaped piece of spring steel having upper and lower perforated and substantially flat plates with opposed threadengaging lugs, one lug only in each plate being displaced. toward the other plate and the other lug in each plate lyingin the plane of said plate, the two lugs in one plate engaging the same turn ,of thread groove in a screw onwhich the lock nut bya substantially circular opening 38. The edge portion "a of the lug I0 is substantially in line ,is in use, and the two lugs of the other plate oppositely engaging adjacent turns of said screw, I I

whereby a secure locking grip is obtained.

. I CARL F. CARLSTROM. 

